This study aims to determine the extent to which theaccumulation rates of Cu, Ni, Co, Zn, and Cd in peat coresagree with established histories of atmospheric emissionfrom local point sources. Metals accumulating in three Finnishpeat cores with known metal deposition histories havebeen measured using inductively coupled plasma-sectorfield mass spectrometry. Samples were age-dated usingboth
210Pb and
14C (bomb pulse curve). At the Outokumpu(OUT) site as well as the low-background site Hietajärvi(HIJ),
210Pb age dates are in excellent agreement withthe
14C bomb pulse curve method results, and the precisionis between 1 and 10 years for most of the samples; atthe Harjavalta (HAR) site, precision is >6 years. Meanregional "background" concentrations have been calculatedfrom deeper peat layers of the HIJ site (
g g
-1): Cu, 1.3± 0.2 (
n = 62); Co, 0.25 ± 0.04 (
n = 71); Cd, 0.08 ± 0.01 (
n= 23); and Zn, 4 ± 2 (
n = 40). For layers accumulatedwithin the past 100 years, accumulation rates (ARs) havebeen calculated. At sites with <0.06 g m
-2 cumulative Niinventory (HIJ and OUT), ARs of Cu and Co trace theknown metal deposition histories very well. At HAR, wheremetal inventories are much greater, Cu and Co aremobile. ARs of Zn were between 3 and 30 mg m
-2 year
-1and those of Cd between 24 and 140
g m
-2 year
-1 atall sites and are independent of the chronology of their inputsfrom the atmosphere.